Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Scouting the 2014 Rose Bowl

Free Press sports writer Joe Rexrode breaks down the bowl matchup:

Stanford offense

Like the Spartans, the Cardinal prefer a pro-style attack, running right at teams and setting up the play-action pass. Running back Tyler Gaffney is the star, with 1,618 rushing yards this season, 5.3 per carry, and 20 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Kevin Hogan has completed 61.4% of his passes for 2,487 yards and 20 TDs, with nine interceptions. Stanford’s top receiver is junior Ty Montgomery, who has 58 catches for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns. Stanford ranks No. 23 in the nation in rushing offense (210.9 yards per game).

Stanford defense

MSU will bring the nation’s No. 1 defense into this game, but Stanford is up there as well at No. 14 in total defense (339 yards allowed per game). That’s impressive in the wide-open Pac-12. The Cardinal are No. 3 in the nation in rush defense (91.2) — not far behind No. 1 MSU (80.8). Saturday’s 38-14 rout of Arizona State gave Stanford seven straight games holding an opponent to 20 or fewer points — and 20 of 25. Linebacker Shayne Skov leads Stanford with 100 tackles, and linebacker Trent Murphy is a pass-rushing terror with 14 sacks out of Stanford’s 3-4 defense.

Overview

Stanford fell in a couple upsets this season, but coach David Shaw’s team usually gets up for big games — the Cardinal are 10-0 in their last 10 contests against ranked opponents. Getting here is a much bigger deal for the Spartans, obviously, and they’ll have to be locked in once preparation gets serious if they want to win this game. This will be a matchup of two great defenses and two teams use the run to set up the play-action pass.

Bowl history

This is MSU’s 24th bowl appearance. It has won the last two to improve to 9-14 overall. But it has fared well in the Rose Bowl, bringing a 3-1 record into this game.

Series history

MSU leads 3-2, with the first four meetings coming in the Duffy Daugherty era. The most recent was a 38-0 Stanford win in the 1996 Sun Bowl.

Fast facts

Tickets

The deadline to request Rose Bowl tickets from MSU’s allotment for donors and season-ticket holders is 6 p.m. Wednesday. If any are still available for the general public, they will go on sale Friday. Orders can be processed on msuspartans.com or by calling the MSU ticket office at 517-355-1610. Tickets are priced at $185 for donors and season-ticket holders.